O 


Wi- 


The  Nicaragua  Canal. 


ITS     DESIGN,     FINAL     LOCATION,     AND    WORK 

ACCOMPLISHED. 


1890. 


By  A.  G.  MENOCAL,  CHIEF  ENGINEER  N.  C.  C.  Co. 

(U.   S.   N.,   M.  AM.  SOC.  C.   E.,  &c.) 


Read  at  the  Fourth  International  Congress  on  Inland  Navigation, 
Manchester,   July,    1890. 


M37 


PRESS   OF  THE  NEW  YORK  PRINTING  COMPANY 
536-538  PEARL  STREET. 


Bancroft  Library 


THE  NICARAGUA  CANAL. 


The  idea  of  establishing  a  water-way  across  the  American  Isthmus  dates 
back  from  the  beginning  of  the  Sixteenth  Century,  when  the  early  naviga- 
tors, perceiving  the  narrow  neck  of  land  separating  the  two  oceans,  were 
forcibly  impressed  by  the  advantages  to  be  derived  by  cutting  a  canal 
through  it.  The  Isthmus  of  Panama,  being  the  narrowest  part  of  that  strip 
of  land,  and  Nicaragua,  on  account  of  the  evident  natural  facilities  presented 
by  the  Lake  and  its  outlet,  the  river  San  Juan,  have  always  been  the  main 
points  of  attraction  as  possessing  the  most  favorable  features  for  doing  the 
work,  and  as  early  as  1550  the  Portugese  navigator,  Antonio  Galvao,  pro- 
posed four  routes ;  one  of  which  was  by  way  of  Lake  Nicaragua  and  the  San 
Juan  River,  and  another  through  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  As  the  configu- 
ration of  the  Isthmus  became  better  known,  the  belief  in  the  practicability 
of  joining  the  two  oceans  by  a  canal  gradually  increased  ;  but  it  was  not  until 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  when,  through  the  endorsement  of 
Humboldt,  who  had  studied  the  problem  on  the  ground,  and,  later  on,  through 
the  united  efforts  of  the  Central  American  Republics,  that  the  question 
commenced  to  assume  a  well-defined  shape.  But,  while  these  States  and 
the  Republic  of  New  Granada  were  anxiously  soliciting  the  co-operation  of 
other  nations  and  of  capitalists  in  favor  of  the  undertaking,  no  regular  sur- 
veys had  been  made  of  any  portion  of  the  Isthmus,  the  routes  proposed,  and 
claimed  to  have  been  discovered,  being  the  result  of  imperfect  reconnoissances, 
or  of  the  imagination.  It  was  evident,  moreover,  that  the  work  would 
require  the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money;  and,  while  it  was  univers- 
ally admitted  that  the  canal  would  be  of  great  advantage  to  the  world  at 
large,  it  was  not  equally  clear  that  the  probable  traffic  seeking  it  would  be 
sufficient  to  pay  interest  on  the  capital  invested.  But  the  gold  discoveries 
following  the  acquisition  of  California  by  the  United  States,  and  the  subse- 
quent rapid  development  of  the  vast  commercial  and  agricultural  interests  of 
the  territories  lying  on  the  Pacific  Slope,  exerted  a  powerful  influence  in 
attracting  attention  to  the  commercial  and  political  importance  of  the  Canal. 
What  had  until  then  been  regarded  as  a  humanitarian  scheme  or  a  geographi- 


cal  desideratum,  became  a  political  and  commercial  necessity,  and  the 
attention  of  the  American  statesmen,  capitalists  and  scientists  was  at  once 
directed  to  finding  the  most  practical  solution  of  the  problem. 

The  idea  of  establishing  a  continuous  water  communication  between  the 
two  oceans  has  been  always  recognized  as  the  only  means  of  satisfying  all 
the  requirements  of  commerce,  but  a  satisfactory  solution  of  all  the  unknown 
quantities  entering  into  such  a  vast  undertaking  could  not  be  reached  without 
serious  surveys  of  the  Isthmus,  and  these  required  time  and  the  adjustment 
of  political  difficulties  with  other  nations  interested  in  the  proposed  work. 
In  the  meantime,  the  Americans,  anxious  to  meet  the  increasing  demand  for 
means  of  communication  between  the  two  oceans  consequent  to  the  rapid 
development  of  the  Pacific  coast,  turned  their  attention  to  an  overland 
route,  and,  having  obtained  a  concession  from  the  Republic  of  New  Grana- 
da, in  1849  organized  a  company  and  entrusted  the  surveys  for  a  railroad  to 
Col.  G.  W.  Hughes  and  J.  C.  Trautwine,  well-known  civil  engineers.  This 
was  the  first  authentic  survey  made  across  the  Isthmus,  and  resulted  in  the 
construction  of  the  Panama  railroad  between  1850  and  1855. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  alive  to  the 
importance  of  the  Canal,  had  ordered  a  reconnoissance  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Tehuantepec,  and,  by  diplomatic  negotiations  with  Nicaragua,  had  encour- 
aged and  supported  the  organization  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Ship  Canal 
Company,  which  had  obtained  from  Nicaragua  the  right  to  build  the  Canal, 
and,  pending  the  completion  of  the  work,  to  establish  a  transit  between  the 
Caribbean  Sea  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  to  facilitate  the  commerce  between 
the  two  oceans,  by  way  of  the  river  San  Juan  and  Lake  Nicaragua. 

This  company  entrusted  the  survey  for  a  ship  canal  to  Col.  O.  W. 
Childs,  a  conscientious  and  able  engineer.  He  examined  in  1850  several 
routes  between  Lake  Nicaragua  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  is  entitled  to 
credit  for  the  discovery  of  the  lowest  depression  in  the  Cordilleras  between 
the  Arctic  Sea  and  Cape  Horn.  Through  this  divide,  which  he  found  to  be 
152  feet  above  sea  level,  he  located  a  route  for  the  Canal  extending  from 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Lajas,  on  the  west  shore  of  the  Lake,  to  the  Port  of 
Hrito,  on  the  Pacific,  the  main  features  of  which  have  stood  the  test  of 
many  subsequent  surveys  aud  rectifications  in  that  region,  and  have  been 
incorporated  in  the  plan  of  the  final  location  of  the  Canal  across  that  country. 
Col.  Childs'  plan  contemplated  the  use  of  the  Lake  as  the  summit  level,  and 
of  the  valley  of  the  River  San  Juan,  its  outlet,  to  its  delta,  through  which  he 
proposed  to  excavate  a  canal  following  the  left  bank  of  the  river  to  Grey  town. 
This  survey  was  the  first  on  the  Isthmus  for  a  ship  canal  conforming  to  the 


requirements  of  engineering,  and  its  accuracy  has  been  fully  confirmed  by 
subsequent  explorations. 

Much  might  be  said  here  to  show  the  great  interest  evinced  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  in  the  building  of  a  canal,  and  to  demon- 
strate the  fact  that  the  only  thorough  surveys  made  on  the  Isthmus  with 
the  view  of  establishing  the  practicability  and  cost  of  the  work,  have  been 
done  either  by  the  Government  directly,  or  by  American  citizens  under  its 
auspices. 

It  is  interesting  and  instructive  to  follow,  step  by  step,  the  American 
explorations  on  the  Isthmus  from  Tehauntepec  to  the  Gulf  of  Darien,  but 
this  paper  deals  with  the  proposed  Nicaragua  Canal,  which  is  believed  to  be 
the  only  practicable  route  for  connecting  the  two  oceans  by  a  ship  canal. 
This  conclusion  is  the  result  of  forty  years  of  exhaustive  studies  over  the 
whole  Isthmus,  and  of  a  valuable  lesson  so  dearly  taught  by  an  unfortunate 
attempt  to  prove  the  practicability  of  building  a  canal  by  the  expenditure 
of  vast  sums  of  money  in  useless  excavations  and  wild  schemes  for  removing 
insuperable  natural  obstacles,  prior  to  a  thorough  examination  of  the  physi- 
cal conditions. 

The  period  from  1870  to  1876,  during  the  administration  of  Gen. 
Grant,  was  one  of  marked  activity  in  the  explorations  of  the  Isthmus,  and 
it  may  be  said  that  the  question  as  to  the  route  possessing  the  greatest 
advantages  was  settled  in  February,  1876. 

The  Commission  appointed  by  President  Grant  in  1872  to  report  upon 
the  various  plans  submitted  by  the  surveying  parties,  consisted  of  Gen.  A. 
A.  Humphreys,  Chief  of  the  United  States  Corps  of  Engineers;  Mr.  C.  P. 
Patterson,  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey,  and  Commodore  Daniel 
Ammen,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Navigation  of  the  Navy  Department. 

On  February  6th,  1876,  the  Commission  submitted  its  decision  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  in  which  it  was  said:  "After  a  long,  care- 
ful and  minute  study  of  the  several  surveys  of  the  various  routes  across  the 
continent,  we  unanimously  report,  That  the  route  known  as  the  Nicaragua 
route,  possesses,  both  for  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  a  canal, 
greater  advantages,  and  offers  fewer  difficulties  from  engineering,  commercial 
or  economical  points  of  view,  than  any  of  the  other  routes  shown  to  be 
practicable  by  surveys  sufficiently  in  detail  to  enable  a  judgment  to  be 
formed  of  their  relative  merits,  as  will  be  briefly  presented  in  the  appended 
memoranda." 

The  routes  considered  by  this  Commission  were,  the  Tehauntepec,  the 
Nicaragua,  the  Panama,  and  the  Atrato-Napipi.  The  surveys  conducted  by 

5 


the  Government  of  the  United  States  at  other  points,  did  not  develop  physical 
conditions  favorable  enough  to  justify  a  location  sufficiently  in  detail  to  form 
an  estimate  of  the  cost,  and  the  results  of  the  explorations  were  examined 
by  the  Commission  only  in  so  far  as  was  necessary  to  show  their  impractica- 
bility or  inferiority  as  compared  to  other  routes. 

The  survey  of  the  Nicaragua  route  by  the  United  States  Government 
was  commenced  in  March,  1872,  and  continued  until  July,  1873.  Eight 
different  routes  between  the  Lake  and  the  Pacific  were  carefully  examined. 
The  correctness  of  Childs'  survey,  from  the  mouth  of  the  River  Lajas  to 
Brito,  was  carefully  confirmed,  and,  while  the  low  divide  was  a  strong  feat- 
ure in  favor  of  his  location,  the  problem  of  properly  draining  the  valley  of 
the  Rio  Grande  was  not,  at  the  time,  satisfactorily  solved,  and  the  next  best 
route,  extending  from  the  mouth  of  the  small  stream  Del  Medio  at  the 
Lake,  north  of  Lajas,  to  a  point  on  Childs'  line  nine  miles  west  of  the  Lake, 
and  thence  following  Childs1  line  to  Brito,  was  adopted  and  carefully 
located. 

In  this,  as  in  all  projects  for  a  canal  across  Nicaragua,  the  Lake  was 
taken  as  the  summit  level,  and  in  this  location  its  mean  level  was  assumed 
to  be  107  feet  above  sea  level.  East  of  the  Lake,  slack- water  navigation 
was  secured  in  the  river  San  Juan,  for  a  distance  of  sixty-three  miles,  by  the 
construction  of  four  dams;  the  lower  dam  being  below  the  confluence  of  the 
San  Juan  and  San  Carlos  Rivers.  Below  that  point  the  canal  was  proposed 
to  be  excavated  for  a  distance  of  41.9  miles  on  the  right  bank  and  following 
the  general  direction  of  the  river  to  the  outlet,  San  Juanillo,  where  it  turned 
almost  directly  to  Greytown.  Twenty-one  locks,  with  an  average  lift  of  ten 
feet,  were  proposed,  ten  on  the  Atlantic  and  eleven  on  the  Pacific  slope. 
This  project  was  a  decided  improvement  on  that  proposed  by  Childs,  but 
in  its  general  outline  the  design  did  not  differ  very  materially  from  his.  Its 
main  features  were  as  follows : 

Canal  in  excavation,  -       61.74 

Slack-water  navigation  in  the  River  San  Juan,    -  63.02 

Lake  navigation,      -  -       56.50 

Total  miles  from  ocean  to  ocean,  181.26 

Number  of  locks,     -  21. 

Number  of  dams  across  the  river  San  Juan,  4. 

The  total  cost  was  estimated  at  $65,222,147. 

The  writer,  who  had  been  the  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Government 
surveys,  recognized  the  practicability  of  the  canal  by  this  route,  but  was 


not  satisfied  with  the  location.  The  Lajas  line,  with  its  low  divide  of  152 
feet,  had  been  reluctantly  abandoned  on  account  of  difficulties  in  the  drain- 
age problem,  and  the  Medio  route,  with  ninety  feet  greater  depth  of  cutting, 
had  been  adopted  instead  ;  thereby  increasing  the  difficulties  in  construction, 
and,  by  several  millions  of  dollars,  the  cost  of  the  work. 

In  the  Eastern  Division  the  frequent  interruptions  of  the  river  naviga- 
tion by  the  interposition  of  dams,  was  not  a  desirable  feature,  and  the  sharp 
curves  and  too  close  proximity  of  the  canal  in  excavation  to  the  river,  in 
several  places,  should,  if  possible,  be  eliminated  from  the  problem.  There 
were,  also,  too  many  locks,  which  together  with  the  long  stretch  of  canal  in 
excavation,  would,  necessarily,  tend  to  retard  navigation  and  restrict  the 
capacity  of  the  canal  for  traffic. 

The  Government  surveys  were  intended  to  show  the  practicability  of 
the  canal,  and  that  object  had  been  fully  attained  in  the  comparatively  short 
time  devoted  to  the  work,  but  it  was  quite  evident  that  before  the  project 
was  finally  adopted  as  a  commercial  enterprise,  important  modifications 
should,  and  could,  in  my  opinion,  be  introduced  in  the  original  designs.  To 
what  extent  this  has  been  accomplished  will  be  shown  in  the  description  of 
the  route  finally  located  and  adopted  by  the  present  Nicaragua  Canal  Con- 
struction Company.  In  1876-77,  while  surveying  the  delta  of  the  San 
Juan  and  harbor  of  Greytown,  for  the  purpose  of  devising  plans  for  the 
improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  river  and  the  restoration  of  the  harbor, 
I  had  occasion  to  make  extensive  reconnoissances  in  a  direct  line  connecting 
Greytown  with  the  end  of  slack-water  navigation  in  the  San  Juan  River,  my 
object  being  to  find,  if  possible,  a  direct  route  joining  those  points,  in  lieu  of  the 
long  and  tortuous  line  following  the  bank  of  the  river.  These  explorations, 
conducted  from  both  ends  of  the  desirable  location,  and  in  opposite  direc- 
tions, could  not  be  completed  within  the  time  then  at  my  disposal.  There 
remained  a  gap  of  four  or  five  miles  yet  to  be  examined,  but,  so  far  as  carried 
out,  the  results  of  the  explorations  were  extremely  gratifying,  with  strong 
indications  of  physical  conditions  favorable  to  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the 
problem. 

In  1880  I  devoted  my  attention  to  a  rectification  of  the  Lajas  location, 
and  succeeded  so  far  as  to  reduce  the  length  of  the  route  by  I  1-4  miles, 
eliminate  several  curves  and  enlarge  the  radius  of  others;  decrease  the 
amount  of  excavation  in  the  narrow  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and,  what 
was  of  the  greatest  importance,  found  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the  drainage 
problem  by  diverting  the  waters  of  the  Grande,  above  its  confluence  with  the 
canal,  through  an  artificial  channel,  and  the  rivers  Juan  Davila  and  Lajas 


into  the  Lake;  thus  leaving  the  narrow  valley  of  the  stream  free  for 
the  Canal. 

That  much  having  been  accomplished  in  the  Western  Division  towards 
the  contemplated  improvement  of  the  original  location,  a  greater  interest 
was  naturally  felt  for  a  thorough  rectification  of  the  Eastern  section.  In 
1885  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  immediately  after  having  com- 
pleted a  treaty  with  Nicaragua  for  the  construction  of  the  Canal,  directed 
me,  at  my  own  suggestion,  to  proceed  to  Nicaragua  with  a  party  of  compe- 
tent assistants  and  ascertain  the  practicability  of  introducing  favorable  modi- 
fications in  the  Eastern  section  of  the  canal  location.  The  results  attained 
by  this  last  examination,  together  with  what  had  been  previously  secured 
west  of  the  Lake,  were  all  calculated  to  attract  the  attention  of  engineers 
and  capitalists,  and  the  organization  of  the  Company  chartered  by  the 
United  States  Congress  and  now  building  the  Canal,  soon  after  followed. 
The  results  of  this  survey  can  be  found  in  detail,  in  book  form,  in  my  report 
to  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  dated  November,  1885,  and  entitled, 
"Report  of  the  United  States  Nicaragua  Surveying  Party,"  Ex.  Doc.  No. 
99,  49th  Congress,  1st  Session. 

The  Company  was  well  aware,  however,  that  while  these  surveys  were 
ample  to  prove  the  practicability  of  the  Canal,  and  sufficient  in  detail  to 
arrive  at  an  approximate  cost  of  the  work,  yet  they  were  only  intended  as  a 
preliminary  location,  and  more  thorough  studies,  comprising  the  minutest 
details  were  still  wanted  before  actual  construction  could  be  commenced. 
Therefore  the  first  work  undertaken  by  the  Company,  immediately  after  its 
organization,  was  to  fit  out  and  send  to  Nicaragua  a  numerous  corps  of  com- 
petent engineers,  with  instructions  to  make  a  thorough  re-location  of  the 
whole  route  and  accessory  works,  so  as  to  eliminate  all  doubtful  elements 
and  to  arrive  at  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  character,  amount  and  cost  of 
all  the  work  required  for  the  completion  of  a  canal  ample  for  the  navigation 
of  the  largest  ships  afloat,  and  the  passage  of  the  maximum  traffic  likely  to 
seek  it. 

Six  land  surveying  parties,  one  hydrographic  party,  and  two  boring 
parties,  have  been  for  two  years  and  a  half  making  this  verification,  and 
although  the  axial  distance  of  the  land  survey  (exclusive  of  the  lake  and 
river)  is  less  than  fifty  miles,  the  length  of  lines  actually  surveyed  by  transit 
and  level,  in  cross-sectioning,  location  of  locks,  dams,  embankments,  rail- 
roads, flowage  lines,  drains,  etc.,  etc.,  is  not  less  than  4,000  miles,  or  at  the 
rate  of  forty  miles  of  actual  instrumental  survey  for  every  mile  of  final  loca- 
tion. The  result  of  this  laborious  work  has  been  a  verification  of  the  location 

8 


of  1885  in  its  essential  features,  but  with  marked  improvements  in  the  details, 
and  the  final  location  of  the  route  upon  which  the  Canal  is  now  being  con- 
structed, and  which  I  will  proceed  to  describe  in  a  concise  form. 

THE  PROPOSED  ROUTE. 

San  Juan  del  Norte  (Greytown)  on  the  Atlantic,  and  Brito  onthePacific, 
are  the  termini  of  the  Canal,  the  total  distance  from  port  to  port  being 
169.448  miles,  of  which  26.783  miles  will  be  excavated  canal  and  142.659 
miles  free  navigation  by  Lake  Nicaragua,  the  River  San  Juan,  and  through 
basins  in  the  valleys  of  the  streams  Deseado,  San  Francisco  and  Tola. 
Lake  Nicaragua  is  necessarily  the  summit  level  of  the  Canal,  and  its  eleva- 
tion above  mean  sea  level  is  taken  at  its  mean  at  1 10  feet.  It  will  be  connected 
with  the  Pacific  by  two  sections  of  canal  in  excavation  and  the  Tola  basin, 
and  with  the  Atlantic  by  slack-water  navigation  through  the  valley  of  the 
River  San  Juan,  and  a  series  of  basins  in  the  valleys  of  the  San  Francisco 
and  Deseado,  connected  by  short  sections  of  canal,  the  sea  level  on  each 
side  being  reached  by  three  locks  which  have  been  located  as  near  as  possible 
to  the  extremities  of  the  Canal,  viz:  3  1-2  miles  from  Brito  and  12  3-4 
miles  from  Greytown,  thereby  giving  a  clean  summit  level  of  153  1-4  miles 
in  extent  out  of  a  total  distance  of  169  1-2  miles,  as  stated  above.  For 
purposes  of  description  the  route  has  been  divided  into  four  divisions,  viz : 
Eastern,  San  Francisco,  Lake  and  River,  and  Western. 

EASTERN  DIVISION. 

From  the  Inner  Harbor  of  San  Juan  del  Norte  (Greytown)  to  the 
San  Francisco  Basin,  18.864  miles. 

The  line  selected  and  located  starts  from  the  inner  harbor  of  San  Juan 
del  Norte  and  extends  in  a  southwesterly  direction  for  a  distance  of  9.297 
miles  to  Lock  No.  I ,  in  the  valley  of  the  small  stream  Deseado,  which  de- 
scends from  the  high  ridge  separating  the  valley  of  the  San  Juanillo  from  that 
of  the  Cafto  San  Francisco.  Where  the  stream  Deseado  interferes  with  the 
course  of  the  Canal,  it  is  to  be  diverted  by  artificial  channels.  These  first 
9.297  miles  of  canal  will  be  at  the  level  of  the  sea,  forming,  practically,  a 
prolongation  of  the  harbor  of  Greytown,  the  width  proposed  allowing  ample 
room  for  the  passage  of  vessels  going  in  both  directions.  The  excavation 
will  be  entirely  through  flat  alluvial  deposits,  as  shown  by  the  numerous 
borings  taken  along  the  whole  line. 

The  first  lock  from  this  reach  will  have  a  lift  of  30  feet,  and  the  uniform 
dimensions  of  chamber  adopted  for  all  the  locks,  viz.  :  650  feet  long  and  70 
feet  wide.  A  suitable  rise  of  ground  for  the  site  of  the  lock  is  met  with 


in  the  lower  valley  of  the  Deseado.  From  the  head  gate  of  Lock  No.  I,  to 
Lock  No.  2,  the  Canal  follows  the  valley  of  the  Deseado,  which  is  here  partially 
flooded  by  the  construction  of  four  low  embankments  connecting  the  site  of 
Lock  No.  i  with  the  sides  of  the  valley.  In  this  manner  the  canal  excava- 
tion, which  here  consists  chiefly  of  stiff  red  clay  underlying  a  thin  stratum  of 
loam,  is  much  reduced,  and  the  drainage  economically  and  efficiently  con- 
trolled by  suitable  weirs  of  maximum  flood  capacity. 

Lock  No.  2,  located  1.258  miles  above  the  headgate  of  Lock  No.  I,  has 
a  lift  of  31  feet  and  will  rest  on  solid  ground,  a  hill  on  the  south  side  of  the 
valley  affording  an  excellent  site  for  it. 

Lock  No.  3,  with  a  lift  of  45  feet,  is  located  12  3-4  miles  from  Greytown 
and  1.927  miles  from  the  headgate  of  Lock  No.  2.  This  section  of  the 
Canal  occupies  the  lower  basin,  made  in  the  valley  of  the  Deseado  by  the 
erection  of  a  dam  38  feet  high  and  1,300  feet  long  across  the  stream,  and 
two  embankments  of  an  aggregate  length  of  1,400  feet  and  about  20  feet 
high,  on  the  top  of  the  confining  ridges.  The  only  excavation  needed  through 
this  basin  is  in  cutting  across  three  low  hills  of  red  clay. 

At  this  point  the  valley  of  the  Deseado  is  spanned  by  an  embankment 
70  feet  high  and  1,050  feet  long,  resting  on  two  high  hills,  and  the  gaps  on 
the  ridge  connecting  this  embankment  with  the  sides  of  the  valley  are  closed 
with  small  embankments  aggregating  5,800  feet  on  the  crest,  with  an  average 
heigth  of  20  feet  to  the  level,  1 12  feet  above  sea  level.  By  this  means  a  basin 
3.086  miles  long  is  created  in  the  valley  of  the  stream  in  which  a  depth  of 
from  30  feet  to  70  feet  is  obtained,  without  excavation,  for  a  distance  of 
2.598  miles.  It  is  proposed  to  retain  the  water  in  this  basin  at  an  elevation 
of  1 06  feet  above  sea  level;  in  other  words,  the  summit  level  of  the  Canal 
is  carried  across  the  "Divide"  and  extended  to  Lock  No.  3,  or  to  within 
12  3-4  miles  of  the  Atlantic,  and  but  3  1-2  miles  from  the  sea  level,  which, 
as  stated  above,  reaches  9  1-4  miles  up  from  Greytown.  The  advantage  of 
these  two  large  reservoirs  in  close  proximity  to  the  locks  need  not  be  com- 
mented upon,  and  the  facilities  afforded  as  a  "turn-out  "  for  ships  in  waiting 
and  traveling  in  opposite  directions  cannot  be  over-estimated.  The  dam  is 
proposed  to  be  built  of  stone  or  what  is  termed  "rock-fill,"  with  earth 
backing,  and  will  have  a  weir  600  feet  long  on  the  crest,  and  a  fall  of  45  feet 
for  the  discharge  of  the  surplus  water  into  the  lower  basin.  This  will  be 
supplemented  by  another  weir  800  feet  long,  located  on  the  south  side 
of  the  valley  in  a  gap  between  the  hills  enclosing  the  upper  basin,  giving 
a  total  length  of  weir  of  1 ,400  feet. 

10 


At  the  western  extremity  of  this  basin  begins  the  ' '  Eastern  Divide 
Cut,"  connecting  the  valley  of  the  Deseado  with  that  of  the  Cafio  San 
Francisco.  This  cut  is  2.917  miles  long,  has  a  maximum  cut  of  298  and 
average  depth  of  111.2  feet  above  the  level  of  the  water,  the  depth  in  the 
Canal  being  30  feet,  and  contains  about  2  I  per  cent,  of  the  total  excavation 
estimated  for  the  whole  Canal. 

The  magnitude  of  this  work  grows  less  striking  as  we  proceed  to  examine 
its  importance  as  a  factor  in  the  solution  of  the  problem,  the  local  advantages 
for  its  execution,  its  permanency  when  finished,  and  the  advantageous  and 
economical  disposition  of  the  material  to  be  excavated. 

FIRST. — It  will  be  observed  that  this  cut  is  almost  in  a  direct  line  be- 
tween Ochoa  and  Greytown,  which  are  the  two  objective  points  of  the  Canal ; 
the  former  being  the  point  at  which  it  must,  of  necessity,  leave  the  San 
Juan  River,  and  the  latter  equally  necessary  as  its  terminus  on  the  Atlantic. 

SECOND. — It  is  the  lowest  point  along  the  whole  ridge  which  intervenes 
between  these  two  points,  and  nearly  equidistant  from  each. 

THIRD. — It  is  also  the  narrowest  pass,  by  several  miles,  of  any  other  on 
the  ridge,  the  valleys  of  the  Deseado  on  one  side  and  the  San  Francisco  on 
the  other,  here  penetrating  it  farther  than  elsewhere,  thus  allowing  the 
greatest  possible  extension  of  their  basins  with  the  least  excavation. 

Besides  the  above  there  are  several  other  important  advantages  con- 
nected with  this  particular  pass  entitled  to  much  consideration. 

FIRST. — The  material  to  be  removed  is  in  the  main  solid  rock ;  therefore 
the  volume  of  excavation  is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  the  cut,  when  made, 
will  remain  so  forever  without  further  expense. 

SECOND. — The  material  is  needed  for  the  construction  of  the  dam  at 
Ochoa,  for  the  embankments  between  Ochoa  and  Greytown,  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  locks,  for  the  breakwater  at  Greytown,  and  for  pitching 
the  sides  of  the  Canal,  and  the  surplus  can  be  dumped  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity. 

THIRD. — The  center  of  distribution  is  most  conveniently  located,  and 
were  not  this  material  available,  at  the  sole  expense  of  transportation 
down  grade,  it  would  have  to  be  obtained  at  considerable  cost  from 
quarries  in  the  vicinity,  as  there  is  no  rock  easy  of  access  between  Ochoa 
and  Greytown,  except  in  this  ridge. 

FOURTH. — The  locality  is  one  of  the  healthiest  in  Nicaragua,  the 
drainage  is  perfect,  and  water  abundant  and  excellent  for  domestic  uses. 

1 1 


FIFTH. — There  is  close  at  hand  on  both  sides  of  the  ridge  an  in- 
exhaustible water  power  for  the  economical  and  convenient  operation  of  all 
the  machinery  required  to  do  the  work. 

Possessing,  therefore,  as  it  does,  this  truly  marvelous  coincidence  of 
favorable  circumstances,  it  would  seem  as  though  the  very  hand  of  Nature 
had  made  this  particular  spot  with  the  view  of  facilitating  the  execution 
of  the  greatest  undertaking  of  this  or  any  other  age.  With  proper  appli- 
ances and  good  management,  so  much  of  the  work  in  the  adjacent  sections 
being  dependent  upon  the  material  to  be  got  from  this  cut,  an  even  rate  of 
progress  can  easily  be  maintained  and  the  whole  work  be  pushed  to  comple- 
tion well  within  the  six  years  estimated  as  the  time  for  completing  the 
Canal. 

SAN  FRANCISCO  DIVISION,   12.500  MILES. 

From  the  Western  End  of  the  Divide  Cut  to  the  River  San  Juan  at  Ochoa. 

On  the  Western  slope  of  the  Divide,  the  Canal  follows  the  valley  of  the 
Limpio  for  1.477  miles  to  the  end  of  the  cut.  Before  falling  into  the  San 
Francisco  basin  it  passes  for  .738  miles  through  a  rolling  country  in  the 
lower  valley  of  the  Limpio,  the  average  depth  of  the  cutting  for  this  distance 
being  16  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  Canal. 

Passing  into  the  basin  of  the  Cafto  San  Francisco  it  follows  the  valleys  of 
the  Limpio  and  Chanchos  to  near  the  confluence  of  the  latter  with  the  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  then  up  the  valley  of  the  last  named  stream,  skirting  the  hills  on 
the  west  to  a  favorable  pass  in  the  hill  range  separating  this  valley  from  the 
swampy  region  called  Florida  Lake,  extending  towards  Ochoa.  The  line  of 
location  follows  this  swamp  to  its  western  extremity,  where  it  strikes  the 
high  rolling  country  intervening  between  this  low  region  and  the  valley  of 
the  Machado,  and  following  a  tributary  of  the  latter,  it  enters  the  River 
San  Juan,  1,600  feet  above  the  mouth  of  the  Machado.  The  distance 
from  the  western  end  of  the  Divide  Cut  to  the  bank  of  the  River  San  Juan, 
is  12.500  miles,  of  which  7.481  miles  are  tangents  and  5.019  miles  com- 
prised in  eleven  curves  of  from  4,000  to  11,459  ^eet  radius.  The  hills  sur- 
rounding the  basin  on  the  south  do  not  form  an  unbroken  range  rising  at  all 
points  above  the  level  of  the  water,  which,  in  this  section  also,  is  maintained 
at  1 06  feet  above  sea  level.  Eight  gaps  will  have  to  be  closed  by  embank- 
ments aggregating  in  length  to  2,440  feet,  measured  on  the  valley  floor,  and 
12,260  feet  on  the  crest,  the  maximum  depth  being  60  feet  below  the  level 
of  the  water  in  the  basins. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  59  smaller  embankments  aggregating  in 
length  18,280  feet  on  their  crest,  rising  six  feet  above  water  level  and  vary- 

12 


ing  in  height  from  one  to  fifty  feet,  will  be  required  from  Ochoa  to  the 
main  ridge  of  the  Divide.  All  embankments  resting  on  the  valley  or  swamp 
level  are  designed  of  rock  fill  and  earth  backing,  with  three  parallel  rows 
of  sheet  piling  between  abutments. 

The  total  length  of  basin  secured  by  this  plan  is  11.267  miles  from 
flowage  line  to  flowage  line,  of  which  8.697  miles  are  in  water  varying  from 
30  to  60  feet  in  depth.  That  is,  of  the  12.500  miles  in  the  Division,  but 
1.233  miles  will  be  wholly,  and  2.570  miles  partly,  in  excavation.  This  is 
not,  however,  the  only  advantage  gained  by  the  creation  of  this  basin. 
Without  it  the  cut  across  the  "Divide"  would  be  of  such  proportions  as  to 
make  the  route  commercially  impracticable,  and  the  basin  of  the  Deseado 
an  impossibility.  Not  less  important  are  the  additional  considerations  of 
free  navigation  through  a  wide  and  deep  basin,  instead  of  a  restricted  ex- 
cavated channel.  In  the  former,  vessels  can  travel  at  full  speed,  lie  at 
anchor  or  pass  each  other  at  all  points,  while  in  the  latter,  the  position  and 
speed  of  all  ships  must  conform  to  rigid  regulations. 

Attention  is  also  invited  to  another  striking  feature  of  this  work,  as 
compared  with  that  close  to  the  bank  of  the  San  Juan. 

In  a  country  subject  to  observed  rainfalls  of  more  than  six  inches  in 
twenty-four  hours,  the  problem  of  drainage  involves  a  contest  with  forces  of 
Nature  whose  enormous  destructive  powers  are  a  constant  menace  to 
engineering  works,  however  careful  and  skillful  their  design  and  execution. 
And  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  therefore,  to  reduce  these  forces  to  a 
minimum  before  the  construction  of  works  to  withstand  them. 

The  large  territory  embraced  between  the  ridge  confining  the  basin  to 
the  south  and  the  "Lower  Route,"  which  term  is  used  to  designate  the 
Canal  line  formerly  proposed,  and  which  lies  on  the  right  bank  of  the  San 
Juan  River  to  Greytown,  is,  by  the  adoption  of  the  "Upper  Route,"  or  that 
over  which  the  Canal  is  being  built,  entirely  eliminated  from  the  problem  of 
drainage,  leaving  only  that  portion  of  the  watershed  north  of  the  ridge, 
from  the  Divide  to  the  valley  of  the  Machado  to  be  provided  for.  The 
area  of  this  catchment  basin  is  about  65  square  miles. 

It  is  proposed  to  build  all  embankments  across  the  valleys  in  the  dis- 
connected portions  of  the  ridge,  of  rock  fill  and  earth  backing,  the  crest 
to  be  107  feet  above  sea  level,  and  with  the  top  and  outer  slope  so  shaped 
and  paved  with  large  stones,  as  to  admit  the  free  flow  of  water  over  the  sur- 
face without  danger  of  injury,  all  other  embankments  to  be  112  feet  above 
sea  level.  All  these  embankments  will  be,  in  fact,  so  many  waste  weirs  for 
the  discharge  of  the  surplus  water  at  several  points  in  the  basin,  with  an 

13 


aggregate  length  of  4,720  feet  of  spillway,  and  assuming  that  the  embank- 
ments are  perfectly  tight,  which  will  not  be  the  case  until  several  years  after 
construction,  and  therefore,  that  all  the  surplus  water  passes  over  the  weirs, 
the  maximum  depth  on  the  crest  will  not  exceed  fifteen  inches. 

An  extraordinary  freshet  in  the  San  Juan  above  the  dam  would 
probably  send  spme  of  the  river  water  towards  the  basin,  but  it  will  be  observed 
that  the  weirs  in  the  basin  alone  are  capable  of  discharging  90,200  cubic  feet 
per  second  before  the  water  reaches  the  top  of  the  high  embankments,  and 
that,  in  such  extreme  cases,  the  basin  would  also  be  discharging  through  the 
Divide  Cut,  over  the  Deseado  dam  and  weirs,  and,  if  need  be,  through  the 
culverts  of  Lock  No.  3.  As  an  additional  precaution  a  guard  gate  is  pro- 
vided in  the  first  cut  east  of  the  Machado,  by  which  the  waters  of  the  River 
San  Juan  may  be  shut  off  from  the  basin.  With  these  ample  provisions  the 
destruction  of  the  smaller  earth  embankments  by  an  overflow  of  the  basin 
seems  to  be  well  guarded  against. 

LAKE  AND  RIVER  DIVISION,   121.04  MILES. 

From  Ochoa  to  Western  Coast  of  Lake  Nicaragua. 

This  Division  extends  from  the  western  extremity  of  the  San  Francisco 
Division  in  the  valley  of  the  Machado  to  the  entrance  of  the  Canal  on  the 
west  shore  of  Lake  Nicaragua.  The  total  distance  is  121.04  miles,  divided 
as  follows:  Navigation  by  the  River  San  Juan,  64.54  miles;  Lake  Nicaragua, 
56.5  miles.  The  section  of  the  river  from  Ochoa  to  the  Lake  is  to  be  made 
navigable  by  the  construction  of  a  dam  at  Ochoa,  just  below  the  Machado, 
maintaining  the  water  at  the  summit  level  of  106  feet  above  sea  level. 
It  may  be  here  explained  that  this  elevation  hitherto  treated  as  the  summit 
level  is  four  feet  below  the  Lake,  a  fall  of  three-quarters  of  an  inch  to  the  mile 
being  allowed  for  the  slope  necessary  to  discharge  its  waters,  although  for 
all  the  purposes  of  navigation,  that  portion  of  the  river  is  converted  into  an 
extension  of  the  Lake. 

The  dam  is  located  between  two  steep  hills,  and  its  length  of  weir  on 
the  crest  will  be  1,250  feet,  and  abutments  650  feet.  The  average  depth 
of  the  water  in  the  river  was,  at  the  time  of  the  survey,  eight  feet,  and  the 
maximum  depth,  close  to  the  southern  abutment,  fourteen  feet,  the  width 
between  the  banks  being  950  feet.  With  a  mean  flow  in  the  river  of 
20,000  cubic  feet  per  second,  the  depth  of  water  on  the  top  of  the  weir 
will  be  about  three  and  a  half  feet. 

The  dam  is  proposed   to  be  built  of  rock  fill  and  earth  backing,  in  all 
respects    similar    to    all    the    other    large    embankments  and  weirs  already 

14 


described.  Its  average  height  above  the  river  bottom  is  61  feet,  its  thick- 
ness at  the  top,  25  feet,  and  at  the  bottom,  500  feet.  The  core  of  the 
rock  portion  will  be  made  of  smaller  stones,  gravel,  and  refuse  from  the 
rock  cuts,  with  three  rows  of  sheet  piling  from  abutment  to  abutment,  and 
substantial  concrete  core  walls  from  the  ends  of  the  sheet  piling  carried  well 
into  the  abutment  hills  and  up  along  the  slope  beyond  the  maximum  flood 
level.  The  upper  portion  and  long  flat  apron  will  be  composed  of  stones  of 
the  largest  dimensions  that  can  be  handled  and  arranged,  the  interstices 
being  filled  from  behind  with  small  stones,  gravel  and  earth  dumped  from 
suitable  trestles. 

By  this  dam,  slack- water  navigation  in  the  River  San  Juan  will  be 
obtained  in  the  whole  distance  from  the  Lake,  in  which,  with  the  exception 
of  the  28  miles  above  Toro  Rapids,  the  navigable  channel  will  be  at  no  point 
less  than  1,000  feet  wide,  with  depths  varying  from  28  to  130  feet.  Between 
the  Lake  and  Toro  Rapids  rock  blasting  under  water  and  dredging  to  an 
average  depth  of  four  and  a  half  feet  will  be  required  at  several  places, 
amounting  in  all  to  24  miles,  most  of  the  rock  blasting  occurring  at  Toro. 
The  average  depth  of  water,  as  raised  by  the  dam,  over  the  shallow  places 
where  deepening  has  been  estimated  for,  is  23  feet,  and  the  excavated  channel 
is  125  feet  at  the  bottom,  the  slopes  varying  with  the  character  of  the 
material. 

A  further  important  effect  of  the  dam  will  be  to  raise  the  water  from 
the  River  San  Carlos  to  the  level  attained  by  the  San  Juan  at  their  confluence 
above  Ochoa,  converting  the  valley  of  that  stream  into  a  spacious  lake  or 
port,  and  an  integral  part  of  the  summit  level  and  of  the  Canal  itself. 
Thousands  of  square  miles  of  the  territory  of  Costa  Rica,  now  inaccessible 
by  land  or  water,  will  thus  become  the  richest  portion  of  that  Republic ; 
and  the  sediment  now  being  brought  down  by  the  rapid  current  of  the  river 
will  then  be  deposited,  for  want  of  transporting  power,  at  the  mouths  of 
the  ravines  and  mountain  torrents  emptying  into  the  basin.  In  fact,  the 
area  now  scoured  will  be  so  much  reduced,  that  comparatively  little  material 
will  be  transported. 

The  confining  ridge  to  the  east  of  the  valley  of  the  San  Carlos,  is  a 
generally  high  range,  extending  in  a  nearly  straight  line  from  the  south 
abutment  of  the  Ochoa  Dam,  about  S.  15°  W.  seven  and  one-third  miles, 
to  the  foot  of  the  high  mountains  of  the  interior.  The  length  of  the  ridge, 
following  its  crooked  crest-line,  is  about  ten  miles.  The  hills  forming  the 
ridge  do  not  form  an  unbroken  range  at  all  points  higher  than  the  level  of  the 
water,  which  is  here  also  maintained  at  106  feet  above  sea  level.  A  number 


of  short  depressions  will  have  to  be  closed  by  embankments,  the  tops  of 
which  will  be  at  an  elevation  of  1 12  feet. 

The  total  number  of  embankments  necessary  is  twenty-one.  Of  these 
eight  will  be  very  small,  the  ridge  being  now  above  the  water  line,  but  below 
1 12  feet.  Only  two  will  reach  the  floor  of  the  valley,  having  a  depth  of 
of  48  feet.  The  remaining  eleven  have  an  average  depth  of  nineteen  feet. 
The  aggregate  length  of  embankments  on  crest  is  5 ,540  feet;  on  floor  of 
valley  130  feet. 

The  embankments  proposed  will  be  entirely  of  clay,  fifteen  feet  wide  on 
top,  with  slope  of  three  to  one  on  both  sides. 

It  is  proposed  to  build  a  large  waste  weir  in  the  ridge  about  two  and 
two-thirds  miles  from  the  Ochoa  Dam.  This  weir  having  its  crest  of  106 
feet  elevation,  will  discharge  the  flood  waters  of  the  San  Carlos  into  the  San 
Juan  independently  of  and  below  the  dam. 

The  valley  of  Curefio  creek  runs  directly  from  the  site  of  the  proposed 
weir  to  the  San  Juan,  5  1-2  miles  below  Ochoa,  hence  no  channel  for  the 
discharged  waters  need  be  provided. 

In  the  east  side  of  Lake  Nicaragua,  dredging  in  soft  mud  will  be  needed 
for  a  distance  of  about  fourteen  miles  to  reach  the  depth  of  30  feet,  the 
average  depth  of  the  cut  being  9.8  feet,  and  the  proposed  channel  150  feet 
wide  at  the  bottom,  with  side  slopes  of  three  to  one  to  the  present  bottom 
of  the  Lake. 

From  the  end  of  this  cut  to  within  1 ,400  feet  of  the  west  coast,  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Canal,  the  depth  in  the  Lake  varies  from  30  to  150  feet. 
The  excavation  on  the  west  side  is  estimated  as  rock.  No  borings  were  taken 

O 

on  this  side  of  the  Lake,  but  the  indications  on  the  shore  and  the  result  of 
the  borings  in  the  vicinity  point  to  rock  as  predominating  in  the  sub-aque- 
ous excavation. 

In  view  of  the  nature  of  the  bottom  and  the  prevailing  winds  on  that  coast 
of  the  Lake,  it  is  deemed  advisable,  if  not  essential,  to  estimate  for  two  crib 
piers  or  breakwaters  at  the  entrance  of  the  Canal  and  extending  into  deep 
water  a  distance  of  1,800  feet  and  2,400  feet  respectively.  These  piers  will 
have  the  effect  of  arresting  debris  drifting  along  the  coast  by  the  action  of 
the  waves,  ensure  smooth  water  at  the  entrance  of  the  Canal,  and  serve  as 
guides  to  approaching  vessels. 

WESTERN  DIVISION. 

From  the  Lake  to  Brito,  17.04  miles. 

This  section  of  canal  connects  the  Lake  with  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  is 
17.04  miles  long  from  the  shore  of  the  Lake  when  at  102.5  feet  above  the 

16 


sea  level,  the  elevation  at  the  time  the  surveys  were  made,  to  the  port  at 
Brito. 

As  the  Canal  is  now  estimated  for,  1 1.44  miles  of  that  distance  will  be 
wholly  in  excavation  and  5.60  miles  through  a  basin  in  the  valleys  of  the 
rivers  Grande  and  Tola. 

In  this  basin  from  30  to  70  feet  of  water  can  be  had  for  a  distance  of 
4.568  miles.  The  basin  has  an  area  of  4,000  acres,  an  extreme  width  of 
12,500  feet,  and  an  average  of  5,500  feet.  An  alternative  route  has  been 
located  through  the  valleys  proposed  to  be  flooded,  for  a  canal  in  excavation, 
should  it  be  found  more  economical  on  account  of  the  value  of  the  land 
through  which  it  passes.  The  only  new  feature  of  this  division  is  the  basin 
now  introduced. 

The  first  section  begins  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Lajas,  on  the  west 
shore  of  Lake  Nicaragua,  and  follows  the  valley  of  that  stream  for  a  dis- 
tance of  8,260  feet,  in  which  the  width  of  the  canal  is  120  feet  at  the  bot- 
tom, and  the  side  slopes  one  and  one-half  to  one,  both  in  rock  and  earth. 
The  River  Lajas  here  turns  to  the  south,  and  it  is  proposed  to  divert  it  and 
make  it  discharge  into  the  Lake  a  short  distance  south  of  its  present  mouth. 
The  Canal  continues  on  the  same  straight  line,  crosses  a  plain  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  and  enters  the  valley  of  the  Guiscoyal,  a  small 
tributary  of  the  Lajas,  and  at  4.70  miles  from  the  Lake  it  crosses  the 
highest  elevation  on  the  line  between  the  Lake  and  the  Pacific.  This  point 
is  42  feet  above  high  lake,  or  152  feet  above  mean  tide  in  the  Pacific,  and 
is  situated  in  a  valley  about  two  miles  wide,  deserving  special  notice  by 
reason  of  the  fact  that  it  is  the  lowest  depression  of  the  main  ridge  between 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans  on  the  American  Continent. 

After  crossing  this  divide,  the  line  gradually  descends  at  the  rate  of 
about  nine  feet  per  mile,  and  in  one  and  three-quarter  miles  farther  it  meets 
the  Rio  Grande,  a  mountain  stream  which  drains  an  extensive  area  of  the 
western  slope  of  the  Cordillera.  The  line  of  the  Canal  follows  the  tortuous 
channel  of  the  Grande,  cutting  across  some  of  its  sharp  bends,  or  occupy- 
ing a  channel  in  short  reaches.  In  one  and  a  half  miles  it  frees  itself  from 
this  contracted  valley  and  cuts  across  a  broad  plain  as  it  turns  to  the  west- 
ward, and  enters  the  basin  of  the  Tola,  nine  miles  from  the  Lake.  The 
distance  across  the  basin  by  the  sailing  line  is  5.504  miles.  This  basin  is 
formed  by  the  construction  of  an  embankment  1,800  feet  long  and  70  feet 
high,  resting  on  two  high  hills  at  a  place  called  La  Flor.  The  method  of 
construction  of  this  embankment  is  in  all  respects  similar  to  that  adopted 
for  the  construction  of  the  Ochoa  dam,  and  embankments  in  the  San  Fran- 

17 


Cisco  valley.  The  rock  for  the  fill  will  be  obtained  from  the  excavations 
for  Locks  Nos.  4  and  5  in  the  north  abutment,  and  the  earth  from  the 
Canal  excavation  east  of  the  basin.  The  level  of  the  Lake  will  be  extended 
through  the  divide  cut  and  the  basin  to  this  dam,  the  top  of  which  is  estab- 
lished at  112  feet  above  sea  level.  Therefore,  the  Lake  will  have  to  rise 
more  than  two  feet  above  the  proposed  summit  level  before  any  water  runs 
over  the  weir.  With  a  length  of  weir  of  1,300  feet  and  the  lock  culverts 
capable  of  discharging  not  less  then  4,500  cubic  feet  per  second,  the  level  of 
the  Lake  can  be  kept  under  control,  even  during  extraordinary  floods.  Yet  a 
guard  gate  is  proposed  in  the  section  of  Canal  between  the  Lake  and  the 
"Divide"  to  shut  off  the  water  from  the  Lake  in  case  of  necessity.  No 
special  provision  has  been  made  for  the  control  of  the  rivers  Grande  and 
Tola,  and  none  is  deemed  necessary.  These  streams  will  flow  into  the 
summit  level,  one  between  the  Lake  and  the  Tola  basin,  and  the  other  at 
the  northern  extremity  of  the  basin.  The  waters  will  be  distributed  be- 
tween the  basin  and  the  Lake,  or  partly  used  for  feeding  the  locks,  and 
should  both  rivers  be  in  flood  while  the  water  in  the  basin  is  below  the  crest 
of  the  weir,  and,  therefore,  most  of  the  combined  flow  discharging  into  the 
Lake,  the  current  in  the  Canal  through  its  narrowest  portion  in  the 
"  Divide,"  will  not  exceed  two  miles  an  hour,  which  can  do  no  harm  to  the 
rock  cut,  while  in  the  larger  portions  of  the  Canal  the  velocity  would,  of 
course,  be  proportionately  less. 

From  the  western  end  of  the  valley  of  Tola  to  Brito,  the  Canal,  after 
leaving  Locks  Nos.  4  and  5,  cuts  across  a  broad,  flat  country,  with  an 
inclination  of  about  9  feet  per  mile,  to  the  port,  a  distance  of  2.28  miles,  in 
which  the  excavation  does  not  exceed  that  required  for  the  Canal  prism. 

Three  locks  are  proposed  to  overcome  the  difference  of  level  between 
the  summit  and  the  Pacific.  Locks  Nos.  4  and  5  are  located  in  the  hill 
north  of  La  Flor  Dam ;  their  chambers  are  650  feet  long  and  70  feet  wide, 
and  the  lifts  42  1-2  feet  in  each.  Lock  No.  6,  of  the  same  dimensions  of 
chamber,  is  situated  1.58  miles  below,  its  lifts  being  21  and  29  feet,  respec- 
tively, at  high  and  low  tide.  Between  this  lock  and  the  port  of  Brito,  a 
distance  of  .57  miles,  the  Canal  will  be  at  the  level  of  the  sea,  with  an  en- 
larged section,  and  may  be  regarded  as  an  extension  of  the  harbor,  similar 
to  that  at  the  Greytown  end  of  the  route. 

HARBOR  OF  GREYTOWN. 

Thirty  years  ago  this  harbor  had  a  comparatively  narrow  but  safe  entrance 
from  the  sea,  with  a  deep  and  commodious  inner  bay,  where  the  largest  class 

18 


of  sea-going  vessels  could  lie  with  perfect  safety.  To-day  this  bay  is  converted 
into  a  fresh- water  lagoon,  separated  from  the  sea  by  a  continuous  sand  strip 
stretching  across  the  old  entrance.  This  sand  bank  is  the  work  of  the  waves, 
which,  striking  the  sandy  coast  at  an  angle  varying  with  the  direction  of  the 
wind,  but  always  inside  of  the  first  quarter,  drives  the  sand  from  east  to  west, 
to  be  deposited  at  the  extreme  western  end  of  the  hook,  or  east  side  of  the 
entrance.  This  continuous  operation  caused  the  hook  to  advance  until  it 
struck  the  main  coast  on  the  west,  thus  completely  enclosing  the  bay. 

The  plan  for  the  restoration  of  the  harbor  is  based  on  data  gathered 
through  many  years  of  investigations,  in  which  the  nature  and  magnitude  of 
the  forces  operating  on  the  coast  were  carefully  defined  and  considered.  It 
became  then  an  easy  matter  to  create  the  means  of  opposing  these  forces, 
and  the  following  plan  has  been  adopted,  and  is  now  in  process  of  execution. 

It  consists  in  the  construction  of  a  jetty,  or  breakwater,  about  2,000 
feet  long,  nearly  normal  to  the  shore  of  the  sand  strip  separating  the  bay 
from  the  sea,  and  extending  to  the  six  fathom  curve ;  then  dredging  from 
this  latter  depth  off  shore  across  the  sand  bank  and  in  the  inner  bay. 

The  jetty  is  located  to  the  windward  of  the  proposed  entrance  chan- 
nel, which  it  is  intended  to  shelter  from  the  sea  and  protect  from  the  wash  of 
the  waves  and  the  traveling  sand  of  the  coast.  The  shifting  sand  arrested 
by  the  pier  will  accumulate  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  pier  and  coast  until 
the  deposit  reaches  the  end  of  the  breakwater,  when  there  will  be  a  ten- 
dency to  shoal  around  the  outer  end  and  across  the  entrance.  This  can  be 
again  prevented  by  an  extension  of  the  pier,  and  the  same  process  con- 
tinued from  time  to  time  until  the  new  coast  line  thus  formed  is  perpen- 
dicular to  the  prevailing  direction  of  the  wind ;  when  the  shifting  action  of 
the  sea  will  be  permanently  arrested  and  the  work  of  the  waves  will  be 
confined  to  piling  the  sand  on  the  beach. 

The  first  section  of  the  jetty  extending  from  the  shore  to  1 5  feet  of 
water,  is  proposed  to  be  built  of  creosoted  timber,  fascinage  and  stone, 
and  that  portion  in  deep  water  to  be  of  "  pierre  perdue"  or  rubble,  the 
stone  to  be  obtained  from  the  "Divide  Cut."  The  entrance  channel  is 
estimated  to  have  a  depth  of  30  feet  and  a  width  of  500  feet  at  the  bot- 
tom, and  the  inner  basin  is  designed  of  sufficient  dimensions  to  afford  easy 
access  to  the  Canal  and  to  accommodate  a  large  number  of  vessels,  its  exca- 
vated area  on  the  bottom  being  206  acres,  which,  with  the  area  of  the  en- 
larged section  of  the  Canal  at  sea  level  to  Lock  No.  I ,  gives  a  total  area  of 
341  acres  of  water  28  feet  deep,  exclusive  of  slopes  of  three  to  one  and 
the  remaining  portions  of  the  inner  bay  not  deepened,  yet  having  in  many 

19 


places  a  depth  of  twenty  feet,  in  which  a  large  number  of  vessels    of  ordi- 
nary size  can  lie. 

The  first  700  feet  of  the  pier  have  already  been  successfully  built,  and 
the  results  so  far  obtained  fully  confirm  the  expectations  to  be  realized  by 
the  execution  of  the  plan. 

BRITO. 

The  recent  surveys  have  greatly  added  to  previous  information  as  to 
the  natural  conditions  of  this  locality,  which,  by  reason  of  its  being  of 
necessity  the  terminus  of  the  Canal  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  has  been  spoken  of 
as  "  the  harbor,"  when,  as  remarked  by  Prof.  Mitchell,  it  is  not  even  a 
roadstead.  Yet,  the  practicability  of  constructing  a  harbor  at  this  point 
has  not  been  disputed,  the  only  difference  of  opinion  being  confined  to  de- 
tails. The  plan  now  proposed  combines,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the  most 
economical  form  of  construction  with  that  best  adapted  to  the  physical  con- 
ditions, and  meets,  it  is  believed,  most  effectually  the  objections  raised 
against  former  designs. 

The  broad  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  stretches  to  the  coast  at  this  point 
through  a  wide  gap  in  the  main  range  of  hills  extending  along  the  Pacific 
coast.  This  valley,  it  is  believed,  formed  once  a  considerable  bay,  but  is 
now  filled  up  for  a  distance  of  about  6,000  feet  from  the  beach  to  about 
the  level  of  high  water.  The  proposed  plan  for  the  construction  of  the 
harbor  consists,  1st,  In  a  breakwater  900  feet  long,  extending  from  a 
rocky  promontory  projecting  from  the  beach  at  the  western  extremity  of 
the  range  of  hills,  and,  2d,  another  jetty,  830  feet  long,  normal  to  the 
beach  nearly  opposite  the  extremity  of  the  one  before  mentioned.  The 
proposed  harbor  will  be  partly  in  deep  water  confined  by  the  jetties,  but 
its  main  portion  is  proposed  to  be  excavated  in  the  alluvial  valley,  the 
whole  forming  a  deep  and  broad  basin  penetrating  3,000  feet  from  the  pre- 
sent shore  line  at  high  water,  and  3,900  feet  from  the  entrance  between  the 
jetties.  As  an  extension  of  the  harbor,  the  Canal  itself  is  excavated  at  sea 
level  with  an  enlarged  prism,  for  a  distance  of  3,000  feet  farther  inland 
where  the  tide  lock  has  been  located.  It  is  believed  that,  with  the  basin 
as  designed  and  the  prolongation  of  the  sea  level  through  the  Canal,  suffi- 
cient tranquillity  will  be  secured  at  the  lock  and  in  the  harbor,  but  should 
this  prove  not  to  be  the  case,  an  enlargement  of  the  main  basin  by  dredging 
in  soft  material  would  be  a  question  of  but  comparatively  small  expense. 

The  breakwaters,  as  estimated  for,  are  of  "pierre  perdue,"  the  material 
to  be  obtained  from  the  rocky  promontory  or  from  the  western  "Divide 
Cut,"  the  price  allowed  being  on  the  latter  basis.  The  harbor  has  an  area 

20 


of  95  1-3  acres  on  the  bottom  or  excavated  portion,  and  with  the  sea  level 
section  of  the  Canal  the  total  area  is  103  2-3  acres  of  water,  30  feet  deep, 
exclusive  of  the  slopes  of  three  to  one. 

MATERIALS  FOR  CONSTRUCTION. 

The  whole  line  of  the  Canal  is  well  supplied  with  timber,  generally  of 
excellent  quality,  though  in  some  sections  of  the  Eastern  Division  it  has  been 
deemed  advisable  to  estimate  for  its  use  only  on  temporary  works  during 
construction,  such  as  trestles,  laborers'  dwellings,  etc.,  the  sheet  piling  and 
most  of  the  bearing  piles  being  imported  from  the  Southern  States,  and 
creosoted  when  necessary.  On  the  Western  Division,  however,  the  wood 
growing  on  ground  less  moist,  is  of  a  very  superior  quality,  and  it  is  proposed 
to  use  it  for  all  purposes,  its  durability  having  been  amply  proved  in  every 
class  of  construction  throughout  the  country. 

The  rock  proposed  to  be  used  for  the  dams,  weirs  and  breakwaters  will 
be  got  from  the  divide  cuts,  which  consist  chiefly  of  basalt  and  various 
descriptions  of  trap  of  excellent  quality  for  the  purpose. 

Lime  of  the  best  quality  is  obtainable  in  the  Western  Division  at  many 
places,  and  the  numerous  specimens  of  work  on  which  it  has  been  used 
have  stood  the  test  of  many  generations,  and  are  to-day  in  a  state  of  perfect 
preservation,  but  it  is  calculated  to  supplement  this  supply  with  imported 
cement,  which  will  be  used  largely  in  the  form  of  concrete  in  the  construction 
of  locks,  etc.,  clean,  sharp  sand  being  found  in  abundance  in  the  beds  of 
most  of  the  streams  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Canal. 

DIMENSIONS  AND  CAPACITY  OF  THE  CANAL. 
In  establishing  the  dimensions  of  the  Canal  it  has  been  my  purpose  to 
profit  by  the  experience  at  Suez,  where  a  yearly  traffic  of  6,000,000 
tons  could  not  be  carried  through  without  serious  delays  to  navigation.  The 
reduction  in  the  length  of  excavated  canal  accomplished  by  the  last  location 
in  Nicaragua,  through  the  substitution  of  free  navigation  in  deep  and  broad 
basins  for  a  restricted  channel,  gives  additional  facilities  for  the  construction 
of  a  waterway  capable  of  accommodating  not  less  than  12,000  vessels  with 
a  net  tonnage  of  20,000,000  a  year,  at  but  a  small  increased  cost  as  compared 
with  the  advantages  secured,  both  for  the  commerce  of  the  world  and  the 
economical  administration  of  the  enterprise.  In  fact,  the  immediate  and 
prospective  benefits  obtained  by  the  enlargement,  in  the  increased  facilities 
for  passing  vessels  and  a  considerable  decrease  in  the  cost  of  maintenance 
and  preservation  of  the  work,  fully  justify,  it  is  believed,  the  additional  expense 

21 


in  the  original  cost.  It  will  be  seen  on  examination  of  the  subjoined  table 
that,  of  the  169.448  miles,  the  total  length  of  the  Canal  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific,  121.04  miles  is  unimpeded  navigation  in  the  River  San  Juan 
and  in  Lake  Nicaragua  and  21.619  miles  through  basins,  making  a  total 
distance  of  142.659  miles  in  which  ships  can  travel  with  little  or  no  restriction 
as  to  speed.  Of  the  remaining  26.789  miles,  .759  is  taken  up  by  the  six 
locks,  leaving  but  26.030  miles  of  canal  actually  in  excavation.  Of  this 
latter  distance  18.189  miles  are  of  canal  large  enough  for  vessels  traveling  in 
opposite  directions  to  pass  each  other,  the  sectional  area  being  in  excess  of 
the  largest  area  of  the  Suez  Canal.  The  two  sections  of  canal  with  contracted 
prisms  are  in  the  eastern  and  western  Divide  Cuts;  the  first  is  2.917  miles 
and  the  other  4.924  miles  in  length,  and,  located  as  they  are,  almost  at  the 
extreme  ends  of  the  summit  level  and  in  close  proximity  to  the  upper  locks, 
it  is  believed  that  the  slight  additional  facilities  to  navigation  secured  by 
enlarging  the  dimensions  of  the  Canal  in  these  heavy  rock  cuts,  and  the 
inconsiderable  gain  in  the  time  of  transit,  would  not  compensate  for  the 
larger  outlay  necessary. 

TABLE 

SHO.WING   THE   DIMENSIONS   OF   THE   SEVERAL   SECTIONS   OF   THE 

PROPOSED   CANAL. 


SECTION  OK  CANAL. 

LENGTH, 
MILES. 

WIDTH, 
TOP, 

FEET. 

WIDTH, 
BOTTOM, 
FEET. 

MEAN 
DEPTH, 
FEET. 

AREA   OF 
I'RISM, 
SQ.   FEET. 

Greytown  to  Lock  No.  i  

O.2Q7 

288 

1  2O 

28 

H   712 

Lock  No.  i  to  Lock  No.  2,  Canal  

1.258 

2IO 

1  2O 

^O 

4OSO 

Lock  No.  2  to  Lock  No.  3,  Canal  

I.6^O 

2IO 

1  2O 

1O 

Lock  No.  2  to  Lock  No.  3,  Basin.         . 

I      762 

Lock   No.    3   to   Western  End   of   Eastern 
Divide  Cut,  Canal  

2.  QI7 

80 

80 

Lock   No.  3   to   Western   End   of   Eastern 
Divide  Cut,  Deseado  Basin  

3.086 

Western  End  of  Divide  Cut  to  Ochoa,  Canal. 

Western  End  of  Divide  Cut  to  Ochoa,  San 
Francisco  Basin  

1-233 
1  1.267 

184 

80 

30 

3,673 

River  San  Juan  to  Toro  Rapids  

•17.040 

River  San  Juan,  where  dredging  is  needed.  . 

27.500 

"5 

28 

22 


TABLE 

SHOWING   THE   DIMENSIONS   OF   THE    SEVERAL   SECTIONS   OF   THE 
PROPOSED   CANAL   (CONTINUED). 


SECTION  OF  CANAL. 

LENGTH, 
MILES. 

WIDTH, 
TOP, 
FEET. 

WIDTH, 
BOTTOM, 
FEKT. 

MEAN 
DEPTH, 
FEET. 

AREA  OF 
PRISM, 
SQ.  FEET. 

Lake  Nicaragua  

56.500 

I5O 

5° 

Lake  to  Western  Divide  Cut,  Canal  

1.565 

2IO 

1  2O 

1O 

4.Q5O 

Western  Divide  Cut,  Canal.    .          

4.Q24 

80 

80 

•JO 

2,  4OO 

Divide  Cut  to  East  End  of  Tola  Basin,  Canal. 

East   End   of   Tola   Basin   to  Lock  No.  4, 
Basin  

2.519 
5.5O4 

I84 

80 

30 
CO 

3,073 

Lock  No.  5  to  Lock  No.  6,  Canal  

1.582 

184 

80 

3° 

3,673 

Lock  No.  6  to  harbor  of  Brito,  Canal  

.570 

288 

1  2O 

28 

5,712 

Bancroft  Library          RECAPITULATION. 


MILES. 

LENGTH,  MILES. 

Canal  Excavation,  east  side  

14.870 

Canal  Excavation,  west  side  

11.160 

Six  Locks,  both  sides  

.750 

26.789  Canal  in  Excavation. 

Deseado  Basins  .... 

4.848 

~\ 

San  Francisco  Basin  

11.267 

>  21.  619  Length  of  Basins. 

Tola  Basin  

C.CQ4. 

River  San  Juan  

6d.  <i4O 

Lake  Nicaragua  

^6.  ZOO 

121.040  Natural  Waterways. 

From  Atlantic  to  Pacific  

169.448  Length  of  Canal. 

In  the  Lake  and  in  the  greater  part  of  the  River  San  Juan  vessels  can 
travel  with  unrestricted  speed,  and  in  some  sections  of  the  river  and  in  the 
basins,  although  the  channel  is  at  almost  all  points  deep  and  of  considerable 
width,  yet  the  speed  will  be  somewhat  checked  by  reason  of  the  curves. 

Official  reports  show  that,  in  the  Suez  Canal,  steamers  of  4,400  tons 
can  travel  at  an  average  speed  of  six  statute  miles  per  hour,  and  that  smaller 


vessels  travel  through  the  Canal  at  the  rate  of  from  six  to  eight  miles  an  hour. 
On  this  basis  the  following  estimate  of  the  time  of  transit  has  been  prepared  : 

ESTIMATED  TIME  OF  THROUGH  TRANSIT  BY  STEAMER. 

H.     M. 

26.030  miles  of  Canal,  at  five  miles  an  hour,             .          .  .          .5.12 

21.619  miles  in  the  basins,  at  seven  miles  an  hour,        .  .          .           3.05 

64.540  miles  in  River  San  Juan,  at  eight  miles  an  hour,   .  .          .      8.04 

56.500  miles  in  Lake  Nicaragua,  at  ten  miles  an  hour,  .         .          5-39 

6  Lockages,  at  45  minutes  each,     .....  .4.30 

Allow  for  detentions  in  narrow  cuts,   .          .          .          .  .          .           1-3° 


Total  time  of  transit,         .          .  .  28.00 

The  traffic  of  the  Canal  will  be  limited  by  the  time  required  for  a  vessel 
to  pass  a  lock  and  on  a  basis  of  45  minutes  and  that  but  one  vessel  will  pass 
in  each  lockage,  the  number  of  vessels  that  can  pass  through  the  Canal  in 
one  day  will  be  32,  or  in  one  year  1 1,680,  which,  at  the  average  tonnage  of 
vessels  going  through  the  Suez  Canal,  will  give  20,440,000  tons  per 
year.  This  estimate  is  on  the  assumption  that  the  traffic  will  not  be  stopped 
during  the  night,  for,  with  abundant  water  power  at  the  locks  and  at  the 
basins,  the  whole  Canal  can  be  economically  illuminated  by  electricity,  and, 
with  beacons  and  range  lights  in  the  lake  and  river,  there  seems  to  be  no 
good  reason  why  vessels  should  not  travel  day  and  night  with  perfect  safety, 
and  the  outlay  necessary  for  the  illumination  has  consequently  been  included 
in  the  estimate. 

WATER  SUPPLY. 

Lake  Nicaragua  has  a  surface  area  of  about  2,600  square  miles,  and  a 
watershed  of  not  less  than  8,000  square  miles.  Guages  at  its  outlet,  the 
River  San  Juan,  at  its  lowest  stage  between  the  Lake  and  Toro  Rapids, 
showed  a  minimum  flow  of  1 1 , 390  cubic  feet  per  second.  Col.  Childs  estimated 
the  discharge  with  full  lake  in  the  wet  season  at  18,059  cubic  feet  per  second, 
which  gives  a  mean  flow  of  14,724  cubic  feet  per  second,  or  1,272,530,600 
cubic  feet  per  day. 

WATER  REQUIRED  FOR  LOCKAGE. 

Cubic  Feet. 

Water  required  for  one  lockage  on  the  east  side,       .          .  .     2,047,500 

"      west  side,           .         .  !>933>75o 

"      both  sides,     .         .  .     3,981,250 

for  32  lockages  per  day,       ....  127,400,000 

This  gives  a  daily  excess  for  the  lake  supply  only  of  1,144,753,600 

cubic  feet. 

24 


To  the  latter  amount  must  be  added  the  flow  of  the  several  tributaries 
of  the  San  Juan  River  between  the  lake  and  the  Ochoa  Dam,  and  also  the 
tributaries  of  the  basins  forming  part  of  the  summit  level,  which  would  fully 
compensate  for  leakage  and  evaporation. 

It  is  expected  that  considerable  leakage  will  take  place  at  the  rock-fill 
dams  and  embankments  before  they  consolidate  and  become  tight,  but  this 
may  well  be  accepted  as  a  desirable  condition  to  aid  in  gradually  disposing 
of  the  surplus  water  without  a  large  discharge  over  the  weirs. 

The  above  statement  shows  that  the  lake  discharge  is  about  ten  times 
larger  than  the  maximum  amount  needed  for  the  Canal,  and  it  may  be  safely 
estimated  that  for  many  years  after  the  Canal  is  opened  for  traffic,  the  surplus, 
from  that  source  alone,  will  be  double  that  amount,  while  at  the  confluence 
of  the  rivers  San  Juan  and  San  Carlos,  above  the  Ochoa  Dam,  the  excess 
may  even  reach  forty  times  the  quantity  needed  for  the  Canal.  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  that  as  long  as  the  summit  level  can  be  maintained  at  the  required 
elevation,  the  leakage  through  the  rock-fills,  acting  as  safety  valves,  may  be 
regarded  as  an  element  of  security  rather  than  one  of  danger,  especially  as 
the  tightening  of  the  dam  may  be  regulated  by  depositing  suitable  material 
on  the  up-stream  side,  or  by  dumping  more  stone  on  the  lower  slopes  or  on 
the  crest,  so  as  to  preserve  the  desired  elevation  of  the  surface  of  the  water. 

A  detailed  estimate  of  the  cost  of  the  Canal  is  foreign  to  the  nature  of 
this  paper,  but  it  may  be  proper  to  state  that  the  probable  total  cost  has 
been  arrived  at  through  careful  computations  based  upon  the  data  obtained 
by  the  last  location  and  numerous  borings  along  the  whole  route. 

The  Eastern  "  Divide  Cut,"  less  than  three  miles  in  length,  is  repre- 
sented in  the  estimate  with  7,000,230  cubic  yards  of  rock  in  place,  and 
twenty-two  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  the  whole  Canal.  Reference  has 
already  been  made,  in  describing  the  Eastern  Division,  to  the  existing 
facilities  for  doing  the  work  and  the  several  purposes  to  which  the  material 
to  be  removed  can  be  economically  applied  in  the  construction  of  the  Canal. 
In  the  Western  Division  the  excavation  in  rock  through  the  "  Divide  Cut " 
is  estimated  at  5,696,507  cubic  yards,  distributed  over  a  distance  of  nine 
miles  in  which  the  deepest  portion  of  the  excavation  is  but  forty-two  feet 
above  the  surface  of  the  water.  There  are  ample  facilities  for  the  deposit 
of  the  waste  material  not  needed  for  the  construction  of  the  breakwaters, 
the  locks,  the  embankments,  the  dam,  etc.,  etc. 

Of  the  26.789  miles  of  Canal  in  excavation,  more  than  twelve  miles 
will  be  done  by  dredging  at  the  level  of  the  sea,  the  material  to  be  deposited 
directly  on  both  sides  of  the  Canal  prism. 

25 


A  railroad  has  been  estimated  for  between  Greytown  harbor  and  the 
river  San  Juan  above  the  Ochoa  Dam,  and  on  the  Western  Division 
between  the  Lake  and  the  Pacific,  which,  together  with  the  lake  and  river 
and  the  smaller  streams  penetrating  the  valleys  of  the  Deseado  and  San 
Francisco,  will  afford  easy  and  economical  communication  along  the  whole 
route. 

It  is  admitted  that  the  cost  of  this  work  will  be  greater  than  that  of 
similar  work  located  in  a  well  developed  country.  A  large  percentage  of 
the  increased  cost  is  chargeable  to  the  transportation  of  machine  tools,  and 
to  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  and  providing  for  the  workmen,  the  country 
from  Greytown  to  the  Lake  being  uninhabited  and  covered  with  a  dense 
forest  and  intercepted  by  extensive  swamps  and  ridges  of  steep  hills ;  and 
that  between  the  Lake  and  the  Pacific  but  sparsely  populated.  The 
erection  of  houses  for  the  protection  of  property  and  the  accommodation  of 
employes,  will  also  be  a  necessary  item  of  considerable  expense,  but  the 
country  is  exceptionally  healthy,  and  these  structures  need  not  be  either 
substantial  in  character  or  expensive.  They  need  be,  as  a  rule,  but  tem- 
porary sheds  built  with  material  gathered  along  the  line  of  the  Canal,  at  but 
little  more  cost  than  the  labor  of  handling  it.  Yet  much  delay  and  ex- 
pense will  be  found  unavoidable  in  the  preliminary  preparations  for  com- 
mencing the  work  of  excavation. 

Another  contingency  which  may  cause  a  marked  increase  in  the  cost  of 
the  work  is  the  physical  inability  of  the  imported  workmen  to  perform  the 
ordinary  labor,  as  compared  with  that  accomplished  in  a  more  temperate 
climate.  The  laboring  classes  of  Nicaragua,  when  under  proper  control, 
are  capable  of  an  activity  and  endurance  under  great  fatigue  and  exposure 
to  the  elements  scarcely  equalled  in  any  other  country,  and  with  no  appar- 
ent injury  to  health;  yet  the  same  capabilities  cannot  be  expected  in 
unacclimated  foreigners  accustomed  to  different  conditions  of  life.  It  is 
believed  that  not  less  than  6,000  excellent  laborers  can  be  obtained  from  the 
Central  American  States,  and  that  with  a  judicious  management  all  the  help 
needed  can  be  had  from  the  Gulf  States  in  this  country  where  the  climatic 
conditions  are  in  many  respects  similar  to  those  prevailing  over  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  Canal  route.  The  number  of  skilled  laborers  employed  will  be 
comparatively  small.  On  the  west  side  of  the  Lake,  where  the  greater 
number  of  laborers  will  be  employed,  the  climate  is  not  excelled  for  salu- 
brity by  any  other  portion  of  Central  America,  and  in  that  portion  of  the 
Eastern  section  from  Ochoa  to  Greytown,  which  is  the  only  locality  where 
trouble  from  climatic  causes  might  be  expected,  the  unexceptional  good 

26 


health  enjoyed  by  the  employes  of  the  Company  during  more  than  two 
years  of  constant  exposure  to  the  influence  of  the  climate,  while  undergo- 
ing all  kinds  of  hardships  and  privations,  seems  to  be  an  evident  demonstration 
that  no  apprehension  need  be  entertained  as  to  the  climate.  It  will  be 
observed  that  in  this  section  the  work  is  divided  into  two  large  classes,  viz : 
the  "Divide  Cut"  and  dredging.  The  first  is  located  in  the  most  ele- 
vated and  healthy  portion  of  the  line,  and  in  the  second  the  number  of 
employes  is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  as  manual  labor  is  almost  entirely 
excluded.  The  small  force  necessary  to  handle  and  care  for  the  machi- 
nery will  be  either  housed  on  the  dredges  or  in  quarters  in  the  "  Divide" 
where,  with  the  purest  of  waters  from  the  mountain  streams  and  the  cool 
"Trades"  constantly  sweeping  in  from  the  sea,  the  slightest  sanitary 
regulations  will  ensure  perfect  health  at  all  times. 

It  is  believed  that  with  an  intelligent  and  business-like  management  the 
Canal  can  be  completed  in  six  years  for  the  work  of  actual  construction,  and 
one  year  in  making  the  necessary  preparations  to  commence  active  operations, 
and  that  the  total  cost  will  not  exceed  $90,000,000,  exclusive  of  banking 
commissions,  interest  during  construction,  and  other  expenses  not  included 
in  the  engineer's  estimate. 

WORK  ACCOMPLISHED. 

The  first  expedition  for  construction  left  New  York  on  the  25th  of  May, 
1889,  and  on  the  3d  of  June  landed  at  the  proposed  entrance  to  the  Canal, 
near  Greytown,  on  a  sandy,  uninhabited  coast,  without  harbor  or  shelter 
from  the  elements,  with  no  means  of  communication  along  the  line  of  the 
Canal  except  through  tortuous  and  much  obstructed  streams,  some  of  which 
could  not  float  a  loaded  canoe,  and  depending  altogether  on  a  base  of  supplies 
for  construction  materials  and  subsistance  2,000  miles  distant,  with  only  one 
line  of  steamers  touching  on  that  coast,  and  two  weeks  distant  from  the 
nearest  telegraph  station.  The  first  work  of  the  pioneers  of  the  great  enter- 
prise was,  necessarily,  one  of  self-preservation.  Rude  temporary  shelters 
had  to  be  improvised  for  the  protection  of  men  and  stores,  while  more  per- 
manent buildings  could  be  erected ;  means  of  transportation  along  the  route 
of  the  Canal  through  deep  and  extensive  swamps  and  virgin  forests  had  to  be 
provided  for,  and  telegraphic  communication  to  the  nearest  station  (more 
than  100  miles  from  the  coast)  and  connecting  the  various  camps  about  to 
be  established  with  the  base  of  operations,  was  felt  from  the  start  to  be  a 
necessary  adjunct  to  prosecuting  the  work.  Under  these  conditions,  aggra- 
vated by  an  insufficient  supply  of  an  inferior  class  of  labor,  the  first  operations 

27 


were  difficult,  tedious  and  expensive,  and  it  was  not  until  the  month  of 
October  following  that  the  preliminary  organization  of  the  various  departments 
had  been  completed,  and  the  ordinary  work  of  construction  could  be  said  to 
have  commenced. 

The  opening  of  an  entrance  into  what  used  to  be  the  Bay  of  Greytown, 
was  recognized  from  the  start  to  be  an  indispensable  requisite  in  the  prose- 
cution of  the  work.  Ships  now  anchor  about  two  miles  off  shore,  and 
machinery  and  other  supplies  are  brought  ashore  in  lighters,  through  a 
shifting  entrance  and  dangerous  bar,  with  a  variable  depth,  never  exceed- 
ing six  feet.  This  method  of  landing  supplies  involves  considerable  risk  and 
expense,  and  is  altogether  inadequate  for  the  discharge  of  the  heavy  ma- 
chinery. The  Company,  therefore,  has  spared  no  effort  in  obtaining  an 
entrance  from  the  sea  into  the  bay,  and  the  construction  of  the  breakwater 
was  one  of  the  first  works  undertaken  by  the  Company,  and  pushed  ahead 
with  all  possible  despatch.  This  pier  is  now  about  700  feet  long,  its  outer 
end  being  in  twelve  feet  of  water,  and  so  far  has  fulfilled,  even  beyond  expec- 
tations, all  that  was  expected  to  be  accomplished  by  it.  It  affords  already 
sufficient  protection  to  the  dredges  excavating  the  channel,  and  the  Com- 
pany has  already  made  a  contract  for  the  dredging  of  the  entrance  and  inner 
bay,  to  a  depth  of  twenty  feet.  Some  of  the  dredges  are  now  in  Nicaragua 
and  others  are  in  process  of  construction  and  will  leave  soon  for  Greytowni 
It  is  expected  therefore,  that,  within  the  next  five  months  vessels  drawing 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  may  be  able  to  enter  the  bay  and  discharge  their 
freight  directly  on  the  wharves  of  the  Company. 

Heavy  machinery  suitable  for  the  work  can  then  be  safely  landed,  the  work 
of  preparation  may  be  said  to  have  been  completed,  and  active  operations 
can  be  undertaken  along  the  whole  route. 

While  prosecuting  the  harbor  work  the  Company  has  also  established 
permanent  quarters,  erected  large  storehouses,  hospitals,  dwellings,  shops 
and  other  buildings.  It  has  accumulated  the  necessary  material  for  the  con- 
struction of  an  aqueduct  thirteen  miles  in  length,  (work  on  which  is  now 
actively  pushed)  which  is  to  supply  Greytown,  the  works  on  the  Eastern  sec- 
tion of  the  Canal,  the  harbor  and  the  Company's  headquarters,  with  fresh 
water  from  the  mountains.  It  has  erected  wharves  and  warehouses  for  the 
receipt  and  storage  of  supplies.  Parts  of  the  San  Juanillo,  Deseado,  San 
Francisco,  and  other  streams,  have  been  cleared  of  obstructions  and  made 
navigable  for  small  craft,  and  several  miles  of  the  route  of  the  Canal,  between 
the  harbor  and  the  Eastern  Divide,  have  been  grubbed  and  cleared  and 
made  ready  for  dredging.  The  Company  has  built  aboujt-tex*  miles  of  broad 

28 


guage  railroad  and  about  seventy  miles  of  telegraph  and  telephone  lines,  and 
has  landed  at  Greytown  large  quantities  of  machinery,  tools,  lumber,  piles, 
creosoted  timber,  boats,  steam  tugs  and  launches,  lighters,  pile  drivers,  and 
other  materials  and  equipment  necessary  for  the  harbor  and  canal  work. 
Large  quantities  of  railroad  supplies,  locomotives,  steam  excavators,  are 
now  at  Greytown,  and  a  contract  has  been  let  for  the  construction  of  seven- 
teen miles  of  railroad  from  Greytown  to  the  Eastern  Divide  Cut,  work  on 
which  has  already  been  commenced,  and,  in  short,  it  may  be  safely  said  that 
the  whole  work  is  being  pushed  forward  as  rapidly  as  the  circumstances  and 
condition  of  the  country  permit. 

A.     G.     NlKNOCAL, 

Chief  Engineer. 


29 


